Attachment for partial plates or removable bridges



Nov. 1 1923. 1,473,661

' C. C. BAKER ATTACHMENT FOR PARTIAL PLATES OR REMOVABLE BRIDGES Filed Feb. 9, 1925 WITNESSESS I INVENTOR Patented Nov. I3, 1923.

CHARLES C. BAKER, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR F ONE-HALF T0 JAMES JOHNSON SMITH,

0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA ATTACHMENT son PARTIAL rLATEsoR nnr/rovannn BRIDGES.

Application filed February 9, 1923. Serial No. 617,989.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES C. BAKER,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Attachments for Partial Plates or Removable Bridges, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the art of dentistry, and particularly to means for attaching removable dentures in place within the mouth.

It is an object of the invention to provide a means for attaching or anchoring removable dentures to the natural teeth serving as abutments in such manner as to permit the portions of the plate or bridge work which contacts the gums to adjust themselves to the most desirable positions in which to seat evenly, and this, regardless of changes in the cont-our of the gums due to shrinkage and the like.

It is a special object to provide an attach ing or anchoring means which will securely hold the removable denture in position and at the same time permit the denture to accommodate itself to the various positions necessary to evenly distribute pressures upon the gums during actual use without throwing strains upon the so-called abutment teeth, that is, the natural teeth to which the denture is anchored.

It is also a special object to provide a device of the character referred to which will not only permit a wide range of relative bodily movement between the denture and its attaching clasp whereby to provide for vertical movement of the denture to secure firm contact with the gums while in operative position, but will also function as universal joint or connection t-herebetween to accommodate a wide range of rocking movement between the clasp and denture, all 5 Without throwing strains upon the abutment teeth. a

It is still a further special object to provide a device which is capable of functioning as above described in which the attach- 0 ing clasp may be readily removed from the denture so as to afford free access to the various parts whenever it is desired to sterilize the same, and to permit easy replacement of a new clasp for the purposes of renewal or repair.

These and other objects of the invention will more fully appear when taken in conjunction wit-h the following description and the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the invention in which the removable denture consists of two connected sections disposed at the opposite sides of the mouth, the drawings showing the relative positions of the parts when supported in actual use; Fig. 2 an elenational view, with parts: in section, of a removable denture consisting of but a single section, also showing the parts supported in place; Fig. 3 an enlarged detail view showing the method of detachably connecting the clasp to the socket; Fig. 4- an elevational view of the parts illustrated in Fig. 3, the cylindrical socket tube being shown in vertical section; Fig. 5 a detached view of the tubular socket looking at the side provided with. the elon 'ated slot; and Fig. 6 a trans verse sectional view taken through the shank of the clasp and illustrating the deformed spherical terminal knob formed thereon.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the removable denture comprises two sections adapted to fit at the opposite sides of the month, each section being similarly constructed and having the respective saddle portions 1, 1, rigidly connected in properly spaced'relation by a curved bar 2 the extremities of which are embedded in the body of the saddles in a well known fashion. The contour of the saddle conforms to the particular gum with which it contacts and has mounted thereon any desired number of teeth, three being illustrated in the drawing, said teeth being secured by any of the well known methods practiced in the art.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2, a denture comprising but a single section adapted to fit in place at one side of the mouth is employed, provided with the sad dle 3 which is constructed similarly to those previously described. Both of these modifications have been illustrated as used in connection with the lower gums, but it is to be understood that the invention is applicable to either the upper or lower gums. Since the method of detachably and pivotpermits the ready ally mounting the clasp to the denture is identical in both embodiments, the same reference numerals will be used in connection therewith and the details of but one socket and clasp need be described.

The attaching or anchoring clasp consists of curved prongs 4, 4, 5 and 6, comprising a unitary structure from which extends the shank 7 having integrally formed at its extremity the terminal knob 8. The prongs 4, 4 are united as clearly shown in Fig. 4 and cooperate with the oppositely facing prong 5 to embrace the so-called abutment 9, which as illustrated is a natural tooth of the user, the extremity of the prong 6 fitting within a natural depression and serving as a limiting stop to position the clasp in proper operative relation therewith.

The artificial tooth 10 at the end of the removable denture adjacent the abutment 9 is provided with a tubular socket 11. This socket is in the form of an elongated hollow cylinder having the top 12, the bottom 18 provided with the projection 13, and the curved body wall extending therebetween which has an elongated slit or slot 14 travers ing the full height thereof. The cylindrical socket is mounted within a suitably shaped recess in the tooth 10,'as shown in Fig. 2, the projection 13 assisting in rigidly anchoring the same in place.

The terminal knob 8 is in the form of a deformed sphere, the diameter of which substantially corresponds to the circular cross sectional bore of the socket, and is flattened at opposite sides to form the parallel faces 15, 15. The distance between the faces 15, 15, is not greater than the width of the slot 14 so as to enable the knob to be freely passed therethrough when the clasp is turned at an angle of 90 from its position shown in Fig. 4.

' The socket 11 is secured to-the tooth 10 so that its longitudinal axis extends substantially parallel to "the axis of the said tooth, and the prong 6 of the clasp lies in the same vertical plane as the socket and tooth, but is normally inclined slightly away from the axes thereof, as shown in the drawings, for a purpose to be subsequently described.

The construction of the clasp and socket attachment to and the removal of the clasp from the denture. The clasp is attached by merely turning the knob 8 .until the smaller transverse dimension thereof between the faces 15, 15, permits the same to be projected through the slot 14 within'the bore of the socket, after which the clasp is turned angularly to assume the position shown in Figs. 1 to 4. And in order to remove the clasp from the denture it is simply necessary to reverse the procedure just described.

With the clasp attached, the denture is positioned within the mouth so as to cause the prongs to embrace the abutment tooth 9 thus anchoring the samein operative position in an obvious mannenthe several parts being so prcportirnicd as a normally dispose the knob 8 about midway of the length of the socket l1.

Due to the generally spherical form of the terminal knob, the connection formed between the clasp and socket is in the nature of a universal joint permitting relative rocking movement between the clasp and denture in any direction, but in order to limit the tipping movement of the denture upwardly, as viewed in Fig. 2, around the pivotal connection, the face of the prong 6 adjacent the denture is utilized. Since the prong 6 is inclined slightly away from the axes of the socket and'tooth 10, as before noted, such upward tipping movement is not immediately arrested, but continued movement in this direction brings the tooth 10 against the prong 6 which functions as a limiting stop to prevent excessive tipping.

The shank 7 fits and freely slides within the slot 14, and the space left at either side of the faces 15, 15, and thetop and bottom 12 and 13, respectively, of the socket permits free relative bodilymovement in the direction of the axis of the tooth between the clasp and denture, thus allowing the saddle portion of the denture to seat and settle firmly upon the gums under all conditions of actual use. This bodily movement occurs without in any way interfering with the rocking or pivotal movement described, and without throwing any strains upon the abutment tooth 9 as a result thereof.

The socket is embedded within the tooth 10 in such manner as to leave no recesses except that due to its hollow'construction. Upon removal of the clasp from the socket, the parts may be easily cleaned and sterilized providing a sanitary arrangement. This detachable feature of the clasp is not only a pronounced advantage from the sanitary view point,but is of decided advantage in cases where it is desirable to replace or re- The advantages of the invention are apparent from the above description, providing a very simple, compact, sanitary structure which can beinitially installed without difficulty, and which may be readily repaired without inconvenience to the user.

Although I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of the invention, as required by the patent statutes, it is obvious that many changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is therefore not intended to limit the same beyond that particularly pointed out and defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A removable denture comprising a saddle, an artificial tooth secured thereto, an elongated socket in said tooth the interior of which is free of obstructing parts throughout its entire length, said socket having an open slit at one side, a detachable clasp provided with a knob fitting in the r socket, the width of the slit being at least as great as the minimum cross-sectional dimension of the knob, and the length of the socket being greater than the maximum cross-sectional dimension of the knob, where by to permit both a rocking and a bodily movement between the clasp and socket.

2. A removable denture comprising a saddle, an artificial tooth secured thereto, a socket in said tooth consisting of a cylindrical tube the bore of which is unobstructed throughout its extent and having an open slit at one side, a detachable clasp provided with a deformed spherical knob fitting in said socket and freely rotatable around an axis non-coincident with the axis of the said tube, the width of said slit being at least as great as the minimum cross sectional dimension of the knob, and the length of said socket being greater than said di mension whereby to permit rocking movement between the clasp and socket and to permit relative bodily movement therebetween.

3. A removable denture comprising a saddle, an artificial tooth secured thereto, a socket in said tooth consisting of a cylindrical tube within its axis disposed substantially parallel to the axis of the tooth and having an elongated open slot at one side, a detachable clasp provided with a spherical knob flattened at opposite sides fitting in said tube, the diameter of the knob corresponding substantially to that of the tube, and the distance between said flattened faces being not greater than the width of said slot whereby to form a universal joint between the clasp and denture and to permit relative bodily movement therebetween.

4. A removable denture comprising a saddle, an artificial tooth secured thereto, a socket in said tooth consisting of a cylindrical tube with its axis disposed substantially parallel to the axis of the tooth and having an elongated open slot at one side, a detachable clasp provided with a spherical knob flattened at opposite sides fitting in said tube, a stop projection on the clasp normally extending in the plane of the axis of the tooth but inclined slightly therefrom whereby to limit the rocking movement of the denture in one direction, the diameter of the knob corresponding substantially to that of the tube, and the distance between said flattened faces being not greater than the width of said slot, providing a universal connection between the clasp and denture and permitting relative bodily movement therebetween.

In testimony whereof, I sign my name.

' CHARLES C. BAKER. Witness EDWIN O. JOHNS. 

